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137th Year, No. 21
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Wallowa County’s surge continues
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
Theadora
Wallowa County has
surpassed 400 COVID-19
cases, and has now seen its
case count double in just
over a month.
The Oregon Health
Authority reported Mon-
day, Aug. 30, that there
were 32 new COVID-19
INSIDE
For a timeline of climb-
ing cases in Wallowa
County, see Page A6.
cases over the weekend,
which sent the overall total
during the pandemic up
to 405. They were among
5,545 cases the OHA
reported over the weekend,
and was the highest one-
day report to date in the
county, though its unclear
if the county’s one-day
record was topped.
The report comes near
the end of a month that
has seen COVID take off
in Wallowa County and
across the state, with OHA
attributing the vast major-
ity of cases to the delta
variant. In August alone
there have been 166 cases.
That number is higher than
the amount of cases from
the start of the pandemic in
March 2020 through April
28, 2021, when a report of
three cases lifted the total
in the county to 165.
The total in Wallowa
County has more than dou-
bled since the 200th case
was reported on July 19, as
it took just 41 days to move
from 200 to 400 cases after
taking 16 months to reach
200 from the start of the
pandemic. The infection
rate in the county is up to
5.65%.
See Surge, Page A6
Bloomfi eld
Enterprise
She came
to avoid
Portland
‘chaos’
ENTERPRISE — Theadora Bloom-
fi eld has lived in Wallowa County for 5½
years — most of that time in Enterprise
— having moved here from Portland.
She said she moved here to both get out
of Portland and to be near her parents.
“I wanted to get out of Portland and
reevaluate my life,” she said. “You know,
mid-20s and you have to fi gure out
which direction you’re going before it all
goes downhill.”
So she found this direction.
“(Portland) is not quiet at all; it’s
chaos,” she said. “I feel safe here. I feel
safe having a child here.”
Bloomfi eld said she met the “love
of my life” here and her 3½-year-old
daughter, Luna, was born here. James
Andrews is the “love of her life,” who runs
a painting company in the county.
Bloomfi eld operates a bakery out of
her home called Simply Sweet.
She recently shared her thoughts
about living in Wallowa County.
What’s your favorite thing about
Wallowa County?
I like the community of it. Everyone
knows everyone and when something
happens, there are multiple people out
trying to right a wrong. That’s a beauti-
ful thing. Also, the views and everything
you can do here when it’s not packed full
of tourists.
Are you going to get
vaccinated?
No. It all just boils down to what is
the most informed decision I can make
that I feel the most comfortable with.
How has the pandemic aff ected
you?
Really, it hasn’t. I always take the nec-
essary precautions since I opened my
home (business). I’m super safe when
I’m preparing things. I have all no con-
tact (with customers) unless they want
to do it otherwise. I wash my hands
(regularly.)
Back to the books amid pandemic
Schools reopen
with new focus
on safety
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— Schools are doing their
best to reopen with a sense
of normalcy in Wallowa
County, despite the resur-
gent coronavirus pandemic
and strict mandates on
masks and vaccinations.
Enrollments up
Joseph Charter School
was the fi rst to hold classes
for the fall semester open-
ing Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Superintendent
Lance
Homan said the school
welcomed 280 students in
its K-12 school. He said
that number was up from
normal and though he isn’t
certain why, he has his
theories.
“We’ve heard a lot of
new families are moving
in,” he said.
As for how school looks
this year, it’ll be similar
to how it’s been since the
pandemic started in March
2020. Most students attend
class at the school, but
some families are opting
for online learning.
“It’s kind of a mix,”
Homan said. “There’s
in-person, of course, but
we have an online option.”
He said about 15 stu-
dents have chosen the
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Superintendent Lance Homan chats with students at Joseph Charter School as they exit after completing their fi rst day
of classes Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. By Monday, all schools in Wallowa County were in session.
online options.
The Imnaha School, a
K-8 school that’s part of
the Joseph district, had six
students in the fi rst, third,
fourth and sixth grades,
teacher Shari Warnock
said after the fi rst day of
school Wednesday. The
small school has no remote
instruction, although it is
possible.
“We were all in-person
last year and look forward
to being in person again
this year,” Warnock said.
Tammy Jones, super-
intendent of the Wallowa
School District, said her
district also is expecting a
higher enrollment.
“We’ve registered a lot
of new kids” in the past
week, she said Wednesday.
Jones said the new stu-
dents are some who have
come with new staff and
others are just ones who
have moved to Wallowa
from other areas.
She said by far, most
Wallowa kids are opting
for on-campus learning.
On Wednesday, only three
or four had opted for the
virtual classes.
Outgoing
Enterprise
Superintendent
Erika
Pinkerton said enrollment
is up from last spring.
“We’ve had a lot of
families come back to us
from online learning,” she
said. “We’ve had new fam-
ilies come into the county.
… We’ve had folks com-
ing from Portland, Walla
Walla, even (from) Bend.”
Pinkerton, whose last
day as Enterprise super-
intendent was Monday
— the school’s fi rst day
of classes — said numer-
ous jobs — particularly at
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital — have brought new
families to Enterprise.
That, and the increasing
willingness for employ-
ers to let workers do their
jobs remotely, has boosted
school enrollments.
School offi cials said
Monday the elementary
school had 201 students
attend on the fi rst day and
203 at the junior high/high
school for 404 total.
Although many schools
were forced to switch to
remote learning at the
beginning of the pan-
demic, Enterprise has been
holding classes on-site at
least since last fall.
“A year ago, the major-
ity of our school was on
site. One of few in Oregon
See School, Page A7
Surge tests
hospital
capacity
What do you think of the
governor’s order on teachers
being vaccinated?
When it comes to any forcible vacci-
nation, I think that’s completely wrong.
Everyone has a choice to make their own
decisions. With every choice comes cer-
tain responsibilities and no one’s choice
should ever be taken away.
Did you do anything
particularly fun this summer?
Camping, the lake, the paddleboats,
the tram.
What’s your advice for people
thinking about moving here?
Don’t do it. Move if you’re a quiet,
wind-down type of person. Don’t move
here if you’re not. It’s so slow here and
the winters are so harsh.
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
in honor of Jim “Ragman”
Tuschhoff , a co-founder of
the Oregon Mountain Cruise,
the predecessor to the current
event. That was followed by
the awards presentation and a
dinner.
Graham also was apprecia-
tive of the volunteers and spon-
sors, particularly the youths
from the Rooted Youth Minis-
try who helped clean up after
the event.
Graham said next year’s
cruise is already scheduled for
Aug. 26-27, 2022.
Among this year’s awards
was a new one for Garaged in
ENTERPRISE — Statewide, hos-
pitals have been near or even at their
capacity, with more than 1,100 people in
Oregon hospitalized due to coronavirus
and the state exceeding 90% capacity.
Wallowa Memorial Hospital has been
in a similar situation.
Brooke Pace, WMH communications
director, said during the past month, the
hospital has reached its patient capacity
several times.
She clarifi ed, though, that that doesn’t
necessarily mean all 25 beds at WMH
are full. The staffi ng availability also has
to be taken into account.
“We have reached capacity a number
of times since the beginning of August,”
she said. “That doesn’t mean we’ve had
25 patients. It means we’ve gotten to the
point that we’re taking care of as many
patients as we physically can.”
Stacey Karvoski, the hospital’s qual-
ity director, said the acuity of the patients
— how much care they need — also is a
consideration.
“Hypothetically, we could have seven
patients in the hospital and that is all we
can take care of if the acuity is high,” she
said.
See Cruise, Page A7
See Hospital, Page A6
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Making the return trip to Joseph from Enterprise down Hurricane Creek Road were some of the 160
entrants Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, during the Wallowa Mountain Cruise.
Wallowa Mountain Cruise draws classics
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The 160 entries
in this year’s Wallowa Moun-
tain Cruise was up from last
year — held in the midst of the
coronavirus pandemic — but
down from the event’s usual
200 entries, according to Jude
Graham, a co-chairwoman of
the Aug. 27-28 event.
Still, the event was deemed
a success as it was able to be
held despite the surging coro-
navirus pandemic.
“We didn’t do any indoor
events; the whole thing was
outdoors,” Graham said. “Peo-
ple were staying a distance
from each other. I feel they
did a good job. The nice thing
about Joseph is we have really
wide streets and really wide
sidewalks.”
Still, among those who
attended were many wearing
masks.
Graham said the crowds
seemed particularly thrilled
having two bands playing live
music.
“The people had a great
time with that,” she said. “It
was amazing.”
The grand fi nale of the
cruise was concluded Satur-
day afternoon when most of
the entrants took part in the
“Ragman Memorial Cruise,”